escalate

[es-kuh-leyt]

verb (used with or without object)

escalated, escalating 

1. to increase in intensity, magnitude, etc..

   to escalate a war; a time when prices escalate.

   Synonyms: swell, mount, advance
   Antonyms: fall, decrease, lower

2. to raise, lower, rise, or descend on or as if on an escalator.

escalate

/ ˈɛskəˌleɪt /

verb

1. to increase or be increased in extent, intensity, or magnitude

   to escalate a war

   prices escalated because of inflation

Pronunciation Note

See percolate.

Other Word Forms

• escalation noun
• escalatory adjective
• nonescalating adjective
• nonescalatory adjective
• reescalate verb
• reescalation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of escalate¹

First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from escalator

Word History and Origins

Origin of escalate¹

C20: back formation from _escalator

Example Sentences

Some residents of the Chinese capital told AFP they expected only a moderate impact on their country's economy if the trade war with Washington escalates again.

Read more on Barron's

Friday’s selloff is a case in point: the suggestion of an escalated trade war between Washington and Beijing pounded stocks—and erased all of the market’s October gains.

Read more on Barron's

The Kremlin has escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems over recent weeks, building on earlier bombing campaigns over the previous three winters that left millions without heating in frigid temperatures.

Read more on Barron's

If the US decides to intervene on Venezuelan soil, the situation could escalate very fast.

Read more on BBC

The ongoing strikes are part of a “continuing drumbeat” in the administration’s escalating war on drug gangs, says Evan Ellis, a Latin America expert at the U.S.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• expand 
• grow 
• heighten 
• intensify 
• mount 
• raise 
• rise 
• step up 
• widen